For many years, the law enforcement industry has utilized a variety of less than lethal weapons. The need to stop a violent threat without the necessity of fatally injuring a suspect with a firearm is always desirable.
Police batons have been an effective less lethal option that has been used in the law enforcement industry for many decades. Since their inception, batons have consisted of a club of less than arm's length made of wood, rubber, steel, aluminum, and a variety of other composites. This type of baton, called a “fixed baton”, may have a relatively large diameter and be 18-36 inches in length. These fixed batons have several drawbacks. For example, as batons are typically worn as part of a police officer's duty belt, police officers may have reduced maneuverability while the baton is worn on the belt, since the batons may swing back and forth while the police officer is moving. Furthermore, as a matter of convenience, police officers may be forced to constantly reposition the fixed baton based on whether they are standing or in a seated position. For instance, a police officer may need to constantly remove the fixed baton while seating themselves in a police cruiser. In which case, the baton may be accidentally left within the cruiser if the officer is forced to make a quick decision to exit the vehicle.
In response to the above-mentioned drawbacks, the law enforcement industry developed an expandable baton that was capable of retracting to a collapsed position. A typical expandable baton is composed of a cylindrical outer shaft containing telescoping inner shafts (typically two or three), all of which are hollow. The innermost shaft (e.g., the striking tube) would have the smallest diameter (of the other shafts) and include a striking section (e.g., a tip) that would be used to concentrate the force of a blow on a target. In order to expand the baton, a user would hold the outer shaft with one hand and pull on the striking section in order to fully expand out the baton. When the user wished to collapse the baton, the user would compress the inner shafts within the outer shaft, such that the inner shafts were primarily contained within the outer shaft. The inner shafts would retain their position within the outer shaft through the use of a retention clip (or retention wire) that was affixed to a cap that is attached to a back end of the outer shaft of the baton. Once the inner shafts are collapsed, the retention clip becomes inserted into the hollow portion of the striking tube and subsequently retains the baton in the collapsed position. With a collapsible design, the baton can be compressed to a length of between 8-10 inches, depending on the overall length of the baton, which is more manageable for the police officer.